Fundamentals Of Discipleship

In Matthew 28:18-20, when Jesus handed over the Great Commission to His disciples and by extension to you and I, He set out the fundamentals; the main things we should know about discipleship. What are the basic things we need to understand about discipleship as seen in Matthew 28:18-20?

1. Disciples Are Made Not Born

Jesus said go and ‘make’ disciples. No one is born a disciple. If you are born with something or born into something, the element of choice is taken away. For example, when we were born, we weren’t given a choice as to the type of family, tribe or country we were born into. We had no say, we weren’t given a choice about our genetic make-up, our physical features whether we would be tall or short. If these things were by choice, who wouldn’t choose to be born into a family of a millionaire or billionaire? Who wouldn’t choose to be a citizen of a developed, flourishing and established nation?

Being a disciple on the other hand is by choice. You have to choose to be a disciple. You can’t be forced into being a disciple. When Jesus saw Peter and Andrew fishing and said to them follow me and I will make you fishers of men, they on their own volition immediately left everything they were doing and followed Jesus. The same applied to all the other men that made up Jesus’ first twelve disciples (Matthew 4:18-22). Even Judas that betrayed Jesus wasn’t forced into becoming a disciple.

The choice to be a disciple of Jesus, isn’t a decision that is taken blindly or half-heartedly, you make the decision fully aware of what it entails to be a disciple, what you are getting into. You make the decision by counting the cost (Luke 14:25-33). We see from Luke 14:26 and 33 that:

• Discipleship is a choice to make Jesus your Number 1 priority in life. Discipleship is a decision to place Jesus above everything else and everyone else. If other things and people, if our family, business, pleasure, desires and personal ambitions are more important to us than Jesus, then we can’t be said to be disciples of Christ. If we treat lightly time with God, doing the work, but give more importance to our family, business and social engagements, then we aren’t ready to be disciples (Matthew 8:21-22, Matthew 22:1-5). This is not to say God doesn’t want us to love and care for our family, business, career and other responsibilities. What He wants from disciples; from His ardent followers is to make being with Jesus, living for Jesus, doing the work Jesus handed over to us our prime concern, the most important thing to us in this life. The message version of Luke 14:33 says ‘Simply put, if you are not willing to take what is dearest to you, whether plans or people, and kiss it goodbye, you can’t be my disciples.’

• Discipleship is a choice you make saying it and meaning it that you are ready to suffer for Christ and the gospel (Luke 14:27). This verse tells us that as a disciple, you must be ready to bear your cross, take up your cross and come after Jesus. It means you are ready to face and endure whatever comes your way as you follow Jesus. The cross where Jesus shed His blood that gives us victory (Revelation 12:11) is the place we triumph over sin, sicknesses, problems of life, principalities and powers of darkness, and all the enemy brings our way. The cross is also symbolic of the pain, suffering, trials, afflictions, persecutions and hardship that comes with walking with the Lord and working for the Lord. If there is a cross for the disciple to carry, it means there is a pain, a suffering, a trial, a hardship to face, endure and overcome.

2. You Make Disciples, You Don’t Churn Out Disciples

To churn out something is to produce something in large quantities automatically and very quickly. If you go to a factory or manufacturing company, you will see how they churn out thousands of shoes, bottles or nylon bags in a week. Jesus was very intentional in the choice of words He used when giving us the Great Commission. He deliberately used the word ‘make’ disciples because making something involves preparation and process.

If you want to make vegetable soup for instance, you have to first go to the market, buy the correct ingredients you need for the soup, come back home clean and cut the vegetables. All this is the preparation. The process is how do you cook the vegetable soup? Do you first add the oil or is it the vegetable you add first? What is the next ingredient to add after you put the oil?